One of life’s true pleasures is strolling the cobblestone streets of Rome and happening upon the wafting smells of fried appetizers emanating from little shops throughout the city. And one of the most special fried street food mainstays of the Eternal City is the simple supplì. A traditional supplì is a fried snack filled with risotto rice, tomato sauce, often a meat like chicken livers, and oozing with mozzarella cheese.
Supplì is often confused with its cousin, arancini, which is more common in Sicily, and while they’re similar, there are plenty of differences when it comes to fillings and shapes. Arancini are often molded with a bulbous cone that is more reminiscent of Mt. Etna, while supplì can be round, oblong, and other geometric variations.
I became enamored with this Italian treat when I happened on a tiny store called Supplì Roma along the narrow streets of Trastevere in Rome. Since 1979, they’ve been serving everything from supplì cacio e pepe or carbonara to arancini with speck and truffles.
Coming home from this particular Roman getaway, I was determined to replicate the gooey goodness at home, but I didn’t have a deep fryer and I wanted to see if there was a healthier way of making them without mountains of oil. I tried a few baking methods, but nothing really worked until a chef friend recommended that I test out an air fryer. That’s when everything changed. I still don’t fully understand frying without oil, but I know it works, and it brought me immediately back to those cobblestoned streets.
For this supplì recipe, there’s a little Sicilian, a little Roman, and a lot of little tweaks to give you a healthy, crispy, gooey, delicious supplì that you’ll never get enough of. It’s called Supplì al Telefono because when you break it apart, the strings of mozzarella stretch out like a telephone cord.
Have fun with this one, and make sure to get an air fryer if you don’t want deep-fried oil soaking into your veins.
Some extra air frying tips for supplì:
Always preheat the fryer to around 400° so your cold risotto rice will get an immediate heat shock and crisp up better
Spray the bottom of your air fryer with some olive oil before cooking the balls of rice, this will help them get crispier
Make sure your risotto is extra cold – you might want to refrigerate it overnight
To get your mozzarella to really melt and ooze, bring it to room temperature before placing it inside the balls of rice
Don’t overcrowd your air fryer. You want the balls to all cook evenly so give them room
Always check your supplì halfway through cooking – no two air fryers are the same and to ensure it’s cooking evenly, you can turn the balls over midway
Supplí al Telefono recipe by Paul Feinstein
Makes eight supplì balls
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely grated pecorino
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 full risotto recipe
2 sticks mozzarella string cheese
2 cups marinara
Method:
Make risotto recipe and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.
Combine breadcrumbs with pecorino and whisk until it’s a uniform consistency.
Combine egg and olive oil and mix vigorously.
Cut string cheese into eight half-inch pieces.
Scoop risotto and make a ball. Indent the ball with your thumb and place string cheese inside. Re-mold the ball around the cheese.
Place supplì balls in freezer and pre-heat air fryer to 400° for 5-6 minutes.
Dip supplì into egg mix and cover completely. Then dip into the breadcrumb mix and cover.
Place all supplì balls into air fryer and cook at 400° for 10 minutes.
Check supplì at 5-minute mark and turn if necessary.
Dip supplì in marinara and enjoy!
Watch Paul Feinstein making supplì al telefono on our Instagram account @lacucinaitalianausa - Highlights section #HomeCookingLCI